Study provides roadmap to drive down B.C. vehicle emissions

Contact:

Jonn Axsen, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, 778-239-1169; jaxsen@sfu.ca

Expertise:

• Electric mobility, automated vehicles and shared mobility
• Adoption of pro-environmental technology
• Consumer attitudes, values, lifestyle and social influence
• Public acceptance of energy projects and climate policy
• Quantitative modeling (simulation) of technology adoption and energy systems
• Climate policy design and impacts

Shradhha Sharma; University Communications and Marketing, 604.202.2504, shradhha_sharma@sfu.ca

Ground transportation is responsible for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions globally, and accounts for approximately 40 percent of emissions in British Columbia. A new Simon Fraser University-led study on driving down vehicle emissions, lays out a roadmap that is based on evidence of which road transport policies, or combinations of policies, are currently working.

The in-depth evaluation by Jonn Axsen, a professor in SFU’s School of Resource and Environmental Management and collaborators Michael Wolinetz, an SFU adjunct professor, and Patrick Plötz, from the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, has been published today in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Funded by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, the study identifies three regulations that need to lead the way if we are to meet prospective climate goals: vehicle emission standards, low-carbon fuel standards, and a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate. Complementary measures include road pricing and other efforts to improve active travel and public transit, as well as smart growth in cities.

About Simon Fraser University: 

As Canada’s engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today’s problems. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities – Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey – SFU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 35,000 students. The university now boasts more than 160,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.